Where does a smart B2B buyer go?
One of the reasons I was so excited about joining JAZD is that, as a long-time B2B marketer myself, I know that the buyers I really want to reach – the smart, well-informed ones (i.e. the ones that the smartest and richest companies hire) are so in need of what we do.
To illustrate this, I’ll use a consumer analogy – let’s say you’re looking to purchase an automobile. While the automobile manufacturers spend many millions of dollars marketing themselves, and creating compelling, useful websites, is that where you as a buyer are really going to spend your time?
I suggest not – what most of us would do (at least what I would do) is first spend significant time at a site like AutoByTel, Cars.com or ConsumerReports.com to research the types of vehicle that is of interest, set up our parameters (2WD/4WD, body style, MPG, hybrid/traditional, etc…) and create a short list of models that most closely reflect my needs. Then we might go to the auto company websites once we’ve made a decision.
For B2B buyers, however, in most markets those ‘Consumer Reports’-esque resources simply don’t exist today. Yes there are numerous simplistic ‘buyers’ guides’ in most industries which provide basic taxonomies and general listings of who sells what, but there are few if any tools to do any in-depth category or product research or comparisons, or allow buyers to consume relevant content, deeply research products and categories, or exchange ideas with peers on which vendors might be most appropriate.
In a nutshell, that is the JAZD value proposition – we build highly interactive, deeply meaningful and useful resources for B2B buyers across vertical markets, leveraging the domain expertise of our content and association partners – and the buyers’ themselves. It’s a huge, highly compelling value proposition – and I’m personally thrilled to play a role in making this mission a reality.
This is also why, if you are a B2B marketer, you need to participate in our marketplaces even if you’ve done a top-notch job of SEO/PPC/web marketing yourselves. We complement – and can turbocharge – your efforts, and we look forward to working with you to deliver new ROI to your current marketing spend. More on that in a later post…